


Amber

by icedpocarie



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate canon retelling-ish, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Nico-centric, dark-ish but not really, please protect nico di angelo, somber-ish atmosphere
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 18:37:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14879088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icedpocarie/pseuds/icedpocarie
Summary: Nico foregoes his humanity, slowly but surely. And then he takes it back again - one step at a time.aka: slight retelling (summarization, more likely) of the series in Nico’s point of viewaka 2.0: nico learns about death, power, and living





	Amber

 

 

Nico di Angelo knew that part of the reason why he isn’t as close as he should be to other people is because he needlessly covers his feelings up. He builds a wall, strong and resilient, refusing to let anyone take even a single peek.

 

He’d grown too accustomed to keeping his deeper, darker thoughts to himself, not minding how the others are looking at him again with those looks that are a mixture of concern and fear.

 

Even Hazel was only allowed to see a little of who he truly is - his insecurities, his fears, his desires - and Nico thinks that he’s doing her a favor with that. 

 

For the longest time, that was how Nico lived. That was how, he - feared by many, hated by some - lived. If Nico was more of a petulant brat that he had originally been, Nico would have no qualms in pointing out that it was the environment and the situation that led him to be what he is now.

 

After all, Bianca’s death and the preceding life that he had in the Underworld would be too much for any person. To have the person he adored and respected and love taken away from him was the single worst thing that he had experienced.

 

It didn’t help that it was the only the beginning. The moment he stepped in the Underworld, Hades had done nothing but throw jabs at him -  _oh, if only Bianca was the one who survived,_ as if Nico  _didn’t think the same thing._

 

Persephone was more of a comedic villain if Nico wanted to humor himself. Appearing at him with a smile at a beginning, but a few strikes of rebellion here and there and her beautiful face crumpled into an ugly one as she cruelly transformed him to a  _flower._

 

Perhaps, the worst thing was that Nico was barely surrounded by any living being. Everyone around him is dead and most were simply lost souls that do not even recognize themselves anymore. The dead with enough power is way too sly for his taste - smiling and offering their allegiances that Nico knew they would break once they get a better option.

 

Truly, Nico thinks that way - that his life is a mess and maybe, just maybe, he should  _have been the child who died._

 

But the more Nico stayed in the Underworld - the more that he got caught up in the plans of the gods and goddesses who truly are too selfish for their own good - the more Nico decided that self-depreciation was not the answer.

 

Being strong was.

 

And was there anything stronger than someone who didn’t face his emotions, lest they devour him whole, making his already bad life even worse?

 

-

 

The initial experience of being thrown in a place he barely knew and people that he barely recognized had made Nico go almost in the deep end. And when it comes to demigods, it _is_ a bad thing.

But thankfully for Hades – and perhaps, for the entirety of Olympus themselves – Nico is anything but ambitious. He hates the world, its people, its gods and deities.

 

Nico hates Percy and Annabeth and Grover for pretending that they were doing him a favor by taking him and Bianca out of the casino.

 

Nico hates Thalia and her followers for seducing Bianca with nice words and confident actions, making _her_ leave him alone – making her die in the process.

 

Nico hates the world because there is no reason for him to feel as bad as he does. For the longest time, Nico was a normal child. Precocious and kind, easy to please. Nico lived properly – and what _does_ the world give him back?

 

Hundreds of problems that he cannot handle at his age – thrown mercilessly and cruelly without any rest.

 

Nico hates Hades – after awhile, after the initial excitement of being related to a _god_ – because the blood in his veins have decided that Nico will never be normal anymore. Even in the leagues of the sons and daughters of the numerous higher and lower beings, Nico will always remain an outcast if only because of his blood.

 

Nico has the power to command the souls of the dead, the darkness of the world – and when push comes to shove, even the earth grovels in his feet.

 

But as powerful as he has become, Nico doesn’t think that it was that important. If he can trade his abilities for Bianca’s life, he would in a heartbeat.

 

And for the longest time, alone but not really, with only the whispers of the damned and the laughs of the phantoms by his side, the only thing that barely kept Nico sane was the thought of Bianca.

 

That was when an old spirit approached Nico – and the mere action brought about a stream of curiosity for him. Because for the longest time, no soul would approach him – be it because of fear or reverie – that Nico momentarily puts the thought of Bianca on hold to hear the statement of the old ghost.

 

He called himself King Minos, offers to teach him how to wield his abilities. He gives a placating smile as he tells her that there was a chance for him to bring back Bianca.

 

And a part of Nico knew – his instincts, probably – that this man was not to be trusted. But even with that thought in mind, this _was_ the only man who was willing to converse with him.

 

And so Nico takes advantage of it – as much as he could. He tries to wheedle out advices on how to properly handle the souls and the shadows. Nico barely even tries to rebel – a complete one-eighty in the face of the others who tried to request anything of him.

 

For all that eventually happened in the future, King Minos was a great teacher. Perhaps he thought that Nico was as gullible as he appeared, but the one who called himself the Ghost King did not hesitate to sharpen Nico’s talents.

 

That was his biggest mistake, however, because the moment that Minos betrayed Nico right in his face was the exact time that Nico faced his powers properly.

 

Nico was no simple son of a god. Not even for Hades’ son.

Because as the fury of the betrayal and the anger at not being able to bring Bianca back was getting to him, Nico hears it – the sound of the power inside of him unlocking.

 

Nico di Angelo is not a normal being – has not been one for the long time.

 

The words that leave his lips left a bitter taste in his mouth, but he knew they were true when he declared _himself_ the Ghost King.

 

And as the power of the darkness embraces him like a mother would a child, he knew that this power was his to wield – and that there was more to his abilities that he would have liked to unlock.

 

-

 

After the first Great War that Nico has participated in, he tried to be friendly and stay in the Camp. Percy and Annabeth were nice, and maybe, just maybe, the others would also be as kind as they are.

 

Fast-forward to a few weeks and Nico never thought that he would find a place more unbearable than the Underworld, but here he was.

 

The world never did seem to answer his expectations.

 

And so Nico returned to the place where he should be - though he doesn’t acknowledge it, just like his father barely acknowledges  _his_ presence.

 

It was easier this time, to focus on becoming stronger, to isolate his thoughts to nothingness. He had already made peace with the death of Bianca - as hard as it was - and he had already accepted that it was easier to stay out of Hades’ way than try to get his attention.

 

Nico also knew that the world above ground wasn’t too good, either, and that’s why he stayed in the confines of his room, practicing his powers as much as he could.

 

When he feels the rush of the darkness that willingly embraces him, the souls that completely listens to his voice - he feels that power is the only thing that can remain constant with him.

 

People die and people live - wars are fought, lost and won. For anyone unlike the gods, for anyone whose mortality is counted, the only thing that would define them is their strength.

 

And Nico knows that he might not be as powerful as Percy - he’s going to be devoured by the River, he knew that much - but he can at least have some semblance of power.

 

After all, the only good thing about being related to Hades was having a share of his power running in his blood. And since Nico is far from having a lot of activities - far from living, if he was to be honest - in here, he could just become powerful enough to fight anyone against him.

 

Who knows, he may even become powerful enough that he wouldn’t simply become the Ghost King, but the Underworld King himself?

 

... not that he would willingly overthrow Hades because ambition is one of the few negative points that Nico lacked. 

 

-

 

The earth is his, the shadows are his, and the souls are his - these are the feelings that Nico gets when he has to use his power.

 

At first, it felt overpowering, suffocating. There are voices that taunt him in his head -  _oh, Nico, you should have never lived_ and  _you don’t even have friends, you little brat_ and  _even Bianca has given up on you_ \- but months of concentration and there would be nothing but silence in his head.

 

When he wields the darkness,  _it_ listens to  _him_  and to no one else. The souls bow to him and the ground cedes to him.

 

After months of training, Nico knew that he became powerful.

 

He knows because the souls talked about it - the boney soldiers and the specters that come across him. They bow before him now, at all times, when in the past, they would not do so. Their souls resonate in front of him, terrified and at awe.

 

Nico knows because Hades would call for him sometimes, finally acknowledging that he does exist. While he does not proceed with overtly cheesy father gestures, Hades now looks at him in the eye – even converses with him from time to time, asking about his trainings and _oh, Nico, would you mind doing a small task for me?_

 

Even Persephone sometimes stares at him from her garden, giving him a look that he cares not to determine or recognize.

 

The lower gods that visit the castle looks at his stature with respect and Nico knew that it is his power they respect, not him. But it was enough, at least, for a time.

 

But as much as exhilarating it was to win against the hundreds of soldiers that he summoned for his training, it becomes boring, tiresome.

 

The words that he kept in the back of his mind and heart once again threatens to rush out of him.

 

Wielding his black sword has become second nature and felt like home, but after hundreds and thousands of practices, it becomes too much of a routine to mindlessly slay the souls that leave dark imprints at their wake.

 

And, just as he slowly falls into his own power, he finds a light - small, feeble and not as bright as before, but is still a light - when he walks on the fields of the death and sees someone eerily familiar.

 

Not in the appearance, but in the imprints of her soul. She felt like Bianca, like Hades even, to some extent - and at that moment, he knew that they were related.

 

A part of Nico knew that he shouldn’t bring the dead back to life.

 

But it wasn’t like he _cannot_. He _shouldn’t_ but he _can_.

 

And that was all that matters because one look at her - soul barely recognizable and fleeting - and Nico thinks that everyone deserves a second chance, do they not?

 

And even when he hears a voice of warning in his head -  _it’s dangerous to bring back the dead, son of Hades -_ he takes her hand and gives her another chance at life.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This... is probably going to be one of my darker works. But it's not so much dark as it is... dark, but in the sense that it isn't angst? I don't even know how to explain it myself lol.
> 
> Writing this feels weird, in a sense that I've never written something like this. I write stories mostly about Nico, but they are of other people's POVs and not his and it's just... I really love Nico. My number one son of all sons.
> 
> The next chapter would be longer - if only because it would tackle HOO and Nico took a pretty large part there. Also, considering all his experiences there, it would probably a rollercoaster chapter orz.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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